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Monumental Anna Pottery Salt-Glazed Stoneware Vase with Profuse Incised Inscriptions and Decoration, Inscribed "Inter-State Industrial Exposition of Chicago.," Signed "By / C & W Kirkpatrick / Anna Ill," Dated 1873, Cornwall and Wallace Kirkpatrick, Anna, IL, 1873, ovoid-bellied vase with footed base and flaring semi-rounded rim, the surface heavily-incised with the cobalt-highlighted names of participants in the 1873 Inter-State Industrial Exposition of Chicago, the large date, "1873," and a "Statement " of "Assets" and "Liabilite(sic)" for " December 13th 1873." The extensive list of names involved in the event begin with "Potter Palmer President" and follows with Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors. The "Statement December 13th 1873" lists "Assets / Exposition Buildings and Appurtenances / Furniture / Insurance / Cash on hand" followed by "Liabilitie(sic) / Bills Payable / Capital Stock Paid Up / Profit and Loss. / Account Payable" with addition problems for each. Incised and cobalt-highlighted crosshatching and groups of graduated vertical slashes, both distinctive Kirkpatrick design elements, adorn the rim area and base. The base additionally includes three incised and cobalt-highlighted flowers as well as a section decorated with an incised and cobalt-highlighted grid. The underside bears the signature, "By / C & W Kirkpatrick / Anna Ill." This work's grand proportions and profuse incising relate it to the iconic "fair jugs" of Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick. In response to the Fire of 1871, Chicago hosted this Inter-State Industrial Exposition of Chicago from 1873 to 1890. Prominent Chicago businessmen attended the event, which highlighted a variety of producers and dealers in Chicago-area manufactured goods including carriages and wagons, brick-making machines, fire extinguishers, and sewing and diamond-cutting machines. Among the people involved in the exposition are the following: Potter Palmer, the president of the function, a Chicago businessman responsible for the development of State Street in Chicago; Joseph Medill, a vice president and Canadian-born American editor and publisher who contributed greatly in making The Chicago Tribune a powerful newspaper; Charles B. Farwell, a vice president, who served as a Cook County clerk and politician and helped build a business district there; W.F. Coolbaugh, a vice president of the event, politician, and treasurer for the Chicago railroad; N.K. Fairbank, a vice president and Chicago industrialist, who created Fairy Soap, which was later purchased by Proctor and Gamble; J. Irving Pearce, the treasurer and creator of the event; and N.S. Bouton, the chairman of the event and owner of the Chicago Plow Company. A wonderful display of the Kirkpatricks' artistry and attention to detail, this work is a fine testament to the role these brothers and their stoneware played in their greater community. Provenance: Descended in the Kirkpatrick family. Three large adjoining reglued broken pieces to rim and shoulder area with a thin 8 1/2" Y-shaped crack descending diagonally from this damage. Some chipping along breaks. A horizontal crack to base. One base chip. H 17".
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